THE MALDIVE ISLANDS NEED YOU

Mr. President Abdulla Yameen, we, the citizens of the world, are seeing how democracy is being treated in the Maldives, ignoring the separation of powers implicit in a true democracy.

I want to remind you that we, the citizens of the world, as potential tourists, are the difference between the development and the scarcity of its wonderful and incredibly beautiful country, and of its people.

Never forget that we, the tourists, want to travel to places where human rights are respected and there is security for each and every one of the participants in an activity called tourism.

Continuing with their current behavior will ruin tourism in the Maldives, as no tourist will want to go. Do not close Maldives to ostracism, your people will never forgive you.

Dear citizens of the world, the Maldivian democracy is being trampled by its president, Abdulla Yameen, who has suspended parliament, kidnapped the Supreme Court of Justice and suppressed citizens' constitutional rights. He has instituted martial law, the police and the army can make arrests at their discretion and all because the Superior Court of Justice has determined that it is necessary to release members of the opposition who are currently imprisoned, since they understand that they did not have a fair trial.

On February 5, 2018, a "state of emergency" was decreed that will last 15 days, instilling fear in the population on a daily basis.

In August 2018 general elections are planned and most of the opposition is imprisoned.

The United Nations and different countries have spoken out about the situation, offering to be intermediaries between the opposition and the current government, in order to find a solution to the conflict and guarantee human rights. The response to Mr. Abdulla Yameen today is, no.

Two foreign journalists have been arrested with the excuse that they did not have a visa to work and have been deported, since they had entered the country with a tourist visa.

The only information in real time that can be obtained is through Twitter, if you search for "maldives state emergency", "maldives crisis", save maldives "," UN human rights ", ... you can see what is happening.

Maldives does not have oilfields, it does not have nuclear power, they are wonderful drops of earth in the middle of an ocean and for that reason the media repercussion is being very little. However, the basic rules that mark a democracy and that sustain it, are being trampled. Please sign this petition and do not close yourself to the opportunity to be one of the lucky visitors of this magnificent country.

It is very important that you know that Maldives is a young democracy, it does not reach 10 years, the first general elections took place in 2008 and since then it is possible to travel and visit the Maldives freely, to know all the islands, including those in which Maldivians live (access to tourists is no longer restricted only to the luxury resorts seen on the Internet).

If the country is a wonderful paradise made up of 1190 islands, its people are incredibly kind, peaceful and hospitable, and finally, after years of isolation, they have begun to stop being the servants of the luxurious resorts, to become doers of their future, with small businesses focused on the tourism sector.

You can travel to Maldives without being a millionaire and share the majesty of its surroundings and the purity of its people.

In Maldives they have welcomed us, taken care of us and we have shared wonderful moments, while traveling knowing their culture, their customs, their impressive nature and their incipient local tourist sector. We have always felt safe and protected. Maldives has entered our souls and our hearts, and we can not look the other way when we are seeing what is happening.

From February 5, 2018 the future in the Maldives is uncertain, many Maldivians are afraid.

Please sign this petition for President Abdulla Yameen to accept the division of powers that represents and ensure a democracy, and know that the whole world is watching what is happening in the Maldives.

Each and every one of us can be part of the true democracy of a country that could be an example for the world of coexistence and development (we want it to be so in a sustainable way), and each and every one of us should be able to enjoy the incredible beauty of this paradise called Maldives.

I personally love Maldives as much as my country, Spain, in which, when I was child, a dictatorship was established and today is a democracy, an example of the tourism sector, which has been visited by 82 million foreigners in 2017.